How To Fix A Speedster
by XmasochisticXmuffins
Summary: Bruce is faced with a difficult decision, try to help Barry Allen or to attempt and ignore those sad blue eyes. How could he do that? Looks like the only way is to fix the speedster up. BatFlash don't like don't read! Smut in later chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there guys! So I wrote a JackRabbit thing and it's pretty much done. There might be some better smut at the end but that's really only if I can manage to write it out and then get the confidence to post it online. **

**Here is a new thing because there just isn't enough of my OTP for DC period. This is a Barry Allen and Bruce Wayne fic, and thats how it's going to be. You don't like it stop reading now, there is a warning, so it's not my fault. **

**Eventually there will be smut, but there needs to be some decent relationship build up first. **

**Soooooo let the games begin!**

Chapter 1: There's Something Off About the Speedster

Bruce wouldn't say he particularly liked anyone in the League better than anyone else. He considered them all equals, in certain ways, and he put up with countless migraine inducing arguments. Yet it bothered him so much that Barry was quiet at the meeting.

The speedster sat back and didn't say a peep. His mouth was shut and more often than not was looking off, his blue eyes somewhere else than their current talk about changing strategy. It would have been perfectly fine, really, if maybe he had been eating something that stunk the room up to make up for his silence. That was the same level of annoying anyway, but it wasn't happening. Barry Allen was troubled, and Bruce had a feeling it had nothing to do with the League in any way.

Why this bothered him he didn't know. It seemed like the ideal situation, no mindless chatter, playful jokes that got very old very fast, or even that mind numbing noise he made while eating. Maybe it was that the blue eyes that would light up and make the meetings a little more bearable were dull, and focused on something unhappy. His light and airy aura was gone, and there was nothing to replace it with. Even Oliver seemed to notice something was wrong with his best friend, the archer giving the speedster a questioning look.

As Bruce had to listen to Wonder Woman drone on about the need for a more aggressive image, he chose to come up with a list of reasons why Barry might be down in the first place.

They ran out of his favorite ice cream on his way here.

Wally decided he didn't want to talk to Barry because training was too hard/boring.

Barry ran out of Wally's favorite foods making the younger speedster upset

Iris was mad at him

Iris was REALLY mad at him

Something happened with Iris

Something happened TO Iris

A few he found rather ridiculous and so he tossed them away, but the others he focused in on. If it was anything, Bruce would bet it was Iris. Something had happened, and whatever it was had to have been big, to get Barry Allen so distracted away from making little jokes at what was being discussed at the meeting.

As it came to a close, the heros lifted themselves about and began to mingle for a little while before teleporting out of the Watchtower. Bruce stood and thought over going to talk to Barry, but he knew he had a meeting waiting for him and that Oliver would take care of anything that may be wrong with the speedster.

What surprised Bruce was when Barry refused to talk with Oliver, and instead shook his head before speeding off to the teleporter, it singing out the usual "The Flash" and then he was gone.

Oli stood with a dumbfounded look after the man, scratching his head in a confused manner.

Bruce sighed and shook his head, deciding it would be best to walk over and check on the troubled speedster. "Arrow, what seems to be the problem?" He asked in the usual voice.

"Well I dunno! He just shook his head and said 'We aren't ready to make it public' and then ran off!" Green Arrow responded with irritation in his voice.

Bruce narrowed his eyes a little "has he talked about Iris at all lately?"

"No he hasn't! Lately all its been is a hey or a goodbye, Wally says he's been really silent during any patrols or anything." Oliver responded, and then looked at Bruce. "You don't think he and Iris...?" He trailed off.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that they are not recovering from this gap." Bruce frowned a little deeper than usual. He then said goodbye to Oliver and continued to be teleported to get to his meeting.

D

**So that was the first chapter! I can't guarantee how often it'll be updated but I will try and be faithful. There really isn't enough of this stuff. **

**So what's goin on huh? I bet you all know :3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Woo! Second Chapter! I plan for it to be a LOT longer than the last one, the first was meant to be more of an intro to how things were going to be. A bit of humor, a sarcastic Batman, and one stubborn blonde that can run REALLY freaking fast. **

**So here we are at Chapter 2! **

Chapter 2: Getting The Speedster to Tell you What's Wrong

Bruce was agitated. More so than usual, because currently he was being debriefed by a fifteen year old child who was bouncing on his feet and getting of topic every few seconds. This was ridiculous and the last straw in Bruce's mind. You do NOT send your sidekick who is clearly not ready for any sort of mission report to do your mission report for you. Barry Allen needed a talking to by not only Batman, but Bruce Wayne as well.

He finally told Wally that was enough and to get home to his parents. The speedster nodded and gave a rather sarcastic salute before speeding off to get home. Pinching the bridge of his nose through his cowl, Bruce sighed and walked off to talk to Clark.

"Flash sent Kid to report to me." He stated simply, the irritation showing through his voice.

Clark nodded and furrowed his brow. "That's unlike him, Arrow? Have you talked with Flash at all since the meeting?" Superman asked as Oliver turned to look at them and rolled his eyes.

"No, hasn't said a word! This is unusual guys, even for Flash. Problem is I know it's him, not some stand in because this is how he acts when he's upset. Somethin has to be really wrong." The archer frowned and folded his arms. "I just haven't had the time to go talk to him."

"Well then I'll go, I can clear tomorrow." Bruce stated simply, getting shocked stares from both Superman and Green Arrow. "What?" He gritted through his teeth.

"Ah, nothing, I just didn't know you got along well enough with Flash for you to be concerned with what's going on in his personal life." Clark shrugged, trying to play it off and lie to the detectives face.

"Oh please don't bore me. I'm a detective, I figure things out and solve the puzzle. Nobody needs Kid Flash giving anymore reports anyway. I'll need to talk with Flash about that as well." Batman turned and left the subject to no argument. He would go to Central City and tell Barry Allen just how ridiculous this whole tantrum was for whatever reason it was being thrown. He wasn't even going to wait until the morning, he was going to go now.

Bruce left with the rest of the league, helping clean up and talk to the press before going to base and changing into normal clothes. It was harder than he thought to keep the speed limit when driving the batmobile home, wanting to get this talk with Barry overwith so his point could be made about sidekicks with ADHD giving a mission report.

He dropped his car off at home and took a less noticeable approach, something not too fancy so maybe he wouldn't attract too much attention to the speedsters house. The Mercedes should do enough.

He slid into the car, telling Alfred he was going out for a bit and that he would be home to have dinner with Dick. The drive was a short one, mostly occupied by the thoughts of Bruce attempting to figure out what to say to Barry. Reaching the small house he still hadn't the slightest idea but figured it would come to him.

Now he was expecting many things. Silence, the smell of cooking, maybe some music (Barry struck him as the loud music sort of fellow) but what Bruce Wayne didn't expect was yelling.

"...ou know why Barry!" He heard a female voice, and assumed it was Iris.

"So do you! Iris I can't just not help people! I was chosen for this and can't just drop my responsibilities!" Barry responded but he sounded desperate, pleading.

"You have more than being the Flash as a responsibility!" Iris snapped back. "I can't be alone like this Barry, I feel distant, like a room mate."

To this Barry didn't respond, there was simply silence. "You knew what you signed up for Iris." He croaked eventually.

"Well I can't take it anymore. I'm sorry Barry."

At this Bruce stopped just standing and listening, feeling awkward enough, and knocked a few times.

Iris opened the door with a single box in hand, her hair a little more messed up than usual. "Hello Bruce, so glad to see you here. Barry you have a visitor!" She called before stepping out of the doorway and into a small car, leaving in what seemed like a hurry.

"Um, c-come in!" Barry called, and Bruce stepped in to see an organized mess of boxes and sorted out things. His ice eyes ran over the half empty house and then to the man who stood a few inches shorter than him with blonde hair attempting to gain his composure.

Barry Allen turned to look at him with empty pools of blue and tearstains down his cheeks he was so desperately trying to wipe away. "Oh hey Bruce, what's up?" He smiled, but it was so fake it almost hurt the detective.

"Um, well I'm here to talk about why you sent Wally to report to me instead of doing so yourself." Bruce cleared his throat and stood up straight. "But you seem to be busy and I can guess why."

Sometimes Bruce wondered why he was so heartless, because the sight of Barry nodding and his lip quivering ever so slightly affected him more than it should have. "Being a hero means a lot of things, one of them is an unhappy marriage." The speedster said quietly. "Or, ex marriage at this point. The papers went through. Iris Allen is no more." He 'smiled' again, busying his hands with moving boxes around pointlessly.

"Barry... I have nothing to provide for you. It's no secret how I don't care much for relationships, therefor don't hear or talk about them. I just want you to know I'm sorry for dropping in at a bad time." Bruce responded with a buisness like tone to his voice. This was his Bruce Wayne voice.

"Mm, it's good to know something's the same. Thanks anyway Bats. See you round, next time I'll drop in to report myself." Barry smiled that fake happy smile, and even though Bruce knew that was his cue to leave, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"Alright... Would you... Would you want to talk about it?" His mouth was working on its own. He was going to say goodbye and then leave, but his damn mouth had other ideas. "I can't give advice but I can listen." There it went again! Bruce Wayne get a hold of yourself!

Barry seemed just as shocked as Bruce when the words came out, probably having dealt with Dick over because Bruce wasn't sure how to help with his problems, Wally wasn't much help either from what he could gather. "It's a little late, Wally's going to come over in a bit and he'll beg you for Dick to come over. I don't think this is the night." His smile turned soft, and it somewhat reached those broken eyes.

"Ah, alright." Bruce cleared his throat, and shifted a little. No, this was not right, not right at all. Bruce Wayne didn't get awkward, he didn't do any of the things that had been mentioned since he walked in that door. "I'll, um, I'll be going now then." He nodded to Barry and went to leave.

"Bruce!" The blonde called, stopping him immidiatly, something that bewildered the man. Barry smiled at him and said "thank you." Before picking up a box and placing it by the door presumably for Iris.

There was something that hit Bruce, pain, guilt, whatever it was, but he couldn't see Barry like this. He was too... Broken.

"How about tomorrow evening Dick and I come over for a while then?" He asked, Barry nearly dropping one of the boxes.

"Bats are you sick?" He asked with those wide blue eyes. "You never come over here."

"I think it's time to change that. What time works for you?" Bruce asked, a bit of amusement in his eyes.

"Um, p-probably like... Eight?" Barry stumbled over his words, "I don't know if the place will be clean by then."

"That's alright." Bruce nodded. "Eight tomorrow evening. I'll see you then Barry." The black haired man walked out of the house and wondered what he was doing. This whole evening wasn't anything like him.

But in reality he knew there was a small connection he had with Barry, one that had him wanting to help the speedster through this tough time. So at that point, Bruce Wayne was going to learn how to fix a speedster.

**So this is where things start to get fun! There is going to be humor and awkwardness between these two before get together so I hope you guys like it and stay along for the ride. **

**It took longer than expected to update, school, work, and Christmas caught up with me so hopefully after the holidays I will update a bit faster. I can't tell you for sure. **

**Anyway have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate make it a good one! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright here is the third chapter! Bruce over at Barry's house, both of them alone in the living room on the couch while the boys play video games upstairs, perfect for romance right?**

**Sorry not yet. I'm attempting to stick close to character and we all know how Bruce Wayne is with relationships. That, and Barry did just get a divorce. **

**I will stop chatting now and get to the story. **

Chapter 3: Getting to Know the Speedster

Bruce felt a little more than awkward. He wasn't sure why he even opened his mouth in the first place to land him at Barry's door with Dick recounting the video games in his bag. Without even knocking the boy wonder walked in and called "Wally I got the new Zombie Slayer 3!" As he ran up the stairs to what could be assumed the younger speedsters room.

The house had been cleaned up a bit with a more organized stack of boxes that was significantly smaller than before somewhat hidden by the stairs. Though there seemed to be a sense of emptiness the home was nice and cozy with a decent sized television and warm couch in the living room, and a visible table meant for company in the kitchen.

Out of said kitchen came the blonde with a slight smile on his face. His blue eyes were still dull but a little brighter than last time. "Hey Bruce." He wiped his flour covered hands on his apron, the smell of cookies wafting in from the kitchen. "I was just making some of Wally's favorite sugar cookies, Iris gave me the recipe to make when he's over." He explained, and Bruce figured that was his excuse for being a bit of a mess. "Dinner is also almost done. It's my dad's recipe for roast beef, and my own cheesy potatoes."

"It smells wonderful Barry." Bruce smiled politely on the outside, but knew Barry wouldn't expect any more than that out of the evening. "I didn't know you cooked."

"Iris usually did that, I learned but didn't need to after we got together." Barry shrugged but the slightest hesitation was there from those shaking shoulders.

"I see..." Bruce nodded and followed the man I to the kitchen, leaning on the counter next to him like a billionaire would. "My offer still stands." He stated, looking at the side of the speedsters face as he placed cookies on a towel covered plate.

"Bruce I think we both know you don't want to listen to how Iris and I bit the dust." Barry smiled a little at Bruce and glanced up before sliding the pan into the sink and checking on dinner.

"No offense Barry, but that's why I'm here. This isn't good for you, the League, or Wally. You're not in your right mind and that can put everyone in danger." Bruce felt himself dip back into Batman, his icy eyes almost stareing at the speedster accusingly.

Sighing a little Barry fidgeted around his kitchen, stirring this or adding something to that before pressing his palms on the counter and looking down as he spoke quietly. "Iris was cheating on me. He was some average guy, and he could be around a lot more than I could. With everything I made her feel neglected. I..." He trailed off and looked away. "I came home about a month ago and she was with him, and she didn't even seem to care. No guilt or sorrow, just... Nothing. Things got worse when I tried to make them better, and she made me sign the papers." Leaning on the counter Barry covered his face with his hands. Short shaky breaths seemed to leave him as he tried to calm himself down.

Bruce frowned deeply as Barry went on, feeling a small sense of understanding. He'd been the man in the bed while the husband came home, and that feeling was bad enough. "It was for the best Barry. She couldn't handle the life she would have had to live," he responded just as quiet as the blonde had been before.

"Yeah..." Barry nodded and stood up straight. It was silent again other than the sounds of the boys upstairs playing their games loudly, until he turned around with a smile. "So the food should be done, you wanna go get them?" He asked, walking over to pull a pan out of the oven.

Deciding he could wait to make the process of grief harder for the male later Bruce nodded and walked over to the end of the stairs calling up "Barry says food is done boys!" When he returned to the kitchen he was met with a raised eyebrow and a hand on Barry's hips. "What?" He asked, genuinely amused by the response he was getting from the slightly shorter male.

"I could have done that myself." Was his only response as he shook his head and began to get plates out. He was both shocked and a little annoyed it seemed when Bruce walked over and grabbed the plates from him, responding with "Then why didn't you?"

He was met with a sharp glare that rivaled any woman's and a sharp "get those on the table."

Bruce caught himself about to laugh and simply smiled as he set the plates on the table. "You're about as bad as Alfred." He shook his head.

"I bet he can actually whack you with one of those trey things." Barry responded with a smirk, and that was the first time since that meeting he saw Barry lit up and happy. It made him almost smile return, but he didn't.

"Nah Alfred has his own way of dealing with all of us." Bruce smiled to himself fondly over the man, and then looked up as Wally came speeding down the stairs and Dick jumping over them completely.

"Woah Barry this looks freaking amazing!" Wally grinned as he sat down and bounced happily in the chair.

"Save some for _all_ of us Wally." Dick teased and shoved the speedster playfully.

After a bit of banter between them Barry 'scolded' Wally and smacked him playfully, earning a loud laugh from Dick.

Bruce watched things unfold, sitting at the table with this broken man and these two children who seemed to be the light of his life. The way Barry moved and glanced around, the way he talked with the kids and Bruce himself led the detective to decide something he didn't plan on.

There was much more to Barry Allen than he originally thought, and he planned to find out what was hidden deep inside of him. For safety purposes of course.

**so here is the third chapter! I hope you liked it i loved writing it, and i really do enjoy these two. **

**Read and reply, comment, tell me how i'm doing and such!**

**till the next chapter. **


	4. Chapter 4

**continuing on the dinner situation here! the fourth chapter is supposed to be full of humor and so much awkwardness. This is Bruce trying to be a normal human being, so it should get interesting. **

**sorry for the lack of update, finals get to you and all that jazz. here you are, the fourth chapter!**

After the whole 'Barry spilling his feelings over the stovetop" Bruce decided that in order to make the Flash safe to fight alongside, he would need to delve deeper. In order to do that he would need to gain the trust of the blonde, which meant developing a relationship of some sort.

All of this seemed easy enough when Bruce planned it out, after all, this was nothing more than a mission. One of those missions he went on alone and didn't bother to tell anyone because it wasn't any of their business.

"Hello? Earth to Bruce!" Barry's voice brought him back to the present where blue eyes were searching his for answers as to why the sudden blank out.

"Er, sorry." He offered as an apology and handed Barry the plate he had been washing before stopping and entering his thought process.

"I could have swore I saw smoke coming from your head." Barry smirked and took the plate, drying it and speeding it to it's place before speeding back. "The gears were practically grinding out loud."

"Right." Bruce responded simply with a roll of his eyes. "at least that proves my gears grind."

"Oh, ho, ho, and what's that s'posed to mean." The blonde asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "That mine don't? I could show you how to grind properly." He responded and snatched the next plate from the detectives hands playfully.

Bruce blinked for a moment, standing there awkwardly. "Was that an innuendo?" he asked, somewhat shocked.

Barry shrugged "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't." He smiled "You might want to wash those dishes before your hands come out prunes."

Deciding that this was a level beyond what he was used to with other members of the league, Bruce went back to washing the dishes.

Counting that as a win for himself Barry hummed as he went along, putting dishes away as fast as Bruce could pick them up. He was glad that he was the one washing them instead of putting up with the constant impatience that all speedsters posses, no matter how old they are.

When the task was finished, neither of them were really sure of what else to do. They weren't the best of friends, Bruce didn't have friends, and they hadn't talked about anything other than work ever. The detective was once again standing there awkwardly, unsure of what to do.

"Well I guess you should take Dick and leave. Diner is done after all, and I know you wouldn't let him stay the night." Barry smiled, and despite what he said, neither were offended. They just knew how things were.

"It is… but maybe I could be lenient and let him stay tonight. He deserves a night off, if that's okay with you of course." Bruce decided that to gain trust you had to give some out first, and at this point he knew Dick would be able to handle himself enough to allow one night.

The moment he saw Barry's eyes light up he knew he had made the right decision. "W-Yeah! Yeah, Wally's already staying so I didn't have much planned anyway. He's really gunna love this Bruce." A wide smile spread across the blondes face, lighting it up like a christmas tree.

"It's no trouble. I'll just have Alfred drop him off some clothes." Bruce nodded and made a mental note to himself. If he does something nice for the kids, earning trust is easier.

"Seriously?! Dude! Daddy Bats said you can stay the night!" Barry seemed surprised that they had an audience, but of course Bruce heard the slurping from Wally's drink.

"Daddy bats?" He raised an eyebrow at Barry who shrugged with a sheepish smile.

"Guess the nickname caught on huh?" He laughed a little, hearing the light thump of both boys rushing down the stairs with wide eyes.

"Seriously Bruce?!" Dick asked, ready to vault over the railing and hug the detective. Bruce was a little upset that he didn't but didn't take too much offense to it. Dick had his reasons.

"Just for this evening, you look like you could use some time with friends." Bruce nodded in response, and cracked a small half smile.

"Thanks!" Dick smiled widely, and didn't bother asking about anything, he knew Bruce had it all figured out. He ran up the stairs after Wally, their excited chatter being dulled down by the sound of video games.

"Really this means a lot to me, I know how difficult it is for you to trust anyone even in the League." Barry said a with a smile, "I'll make sure to keep him safe."

Bruce wasn't sure why this made him feel better about the situation. Maybe it was the softness in those blue eyes, or the fatherly way he looked up the stairs as if they were in danger that very minute. Whatever it was, the detective almost felt inclined to leave the house without any sort of listening devices… almost.

"Your welcome." Was all he could really respond with, and he left it at that.

He walked up to the bedroom where the boys were currently involved in their game and said goodbye, being careful to only place one near the outside wall. The detective didn't want to hear anything… unnecessary from the young speedsters bedroom. He placed one near Barry's room, and down in the kitchen and livingroom.

When they were all in place Bruce turned to Barry who walked him to the door and gave instructions. "I'll have Alfred drop off Dick's clothes later, and arrange a time for us to do something like this again."

"Again? So it wasn't as bad as you thought it was going to be huh?" Barry smirked and folded his arms triumphantly.

Bruce could smile at that and found himself answering truthfully. "No, it wasn't bad at all. We do however need to talk more about the… issue." he added on at the end, not wanting Barry to get the wrong idea. Yes he was trying to gain the speedsters trust enough to find out what was going on in his head (that was a surprising enough statement but a true one nonetheless) but that didn't mean they were going to actually get close.

Barry's smile faltered just a little and he nodded "Alright." He shifted a little uncomfortably before saying "Well, goodnight Bruce."

"Goodnight Barry." Bruce nodded to him and opened the door, and as he left, he started to calibrate the recorder for the devices in place.

When he reached home, he gave the orders to Alfred who gave him the "we will talk about this when I get back" look but did as he asked. Quickly changing into a suit, he had to make an appearance to a party before going out on patrol a little earlier than usual without Robin beside him.

He didn't think much on what he was doing because he had done it many times before, so his mind was left to wander back to the small house in Central City where a speedster was undoubtedly warding off all of his unpleasant feelings by doting on the two boys that were there. The thought made him frown just a little, but also brought something else to his attention.

Why hadn't he noticed the other side to Barry Allen before?

**so here it is all finished up! I really like how this is turning out and hope you guys are too.**

**read, review, comment, etc. let me know what I should improve on and what I should do more of. **

**til the next chapter. **


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